The sentence as written features a dangling modifier, which makes the sentence read as though "the breeze" was "walking out of the house." The sentence needs to be rearranged to make it clear that the girl was the one doing the walking. The only answer choice that does this is "The breeze nearly knocked the girl down as she walked out of the house."

The sentence is written in a way that makes it appear that "the smog" was the thing "flying into the city." The sentence needs to be restructured to show that the plane, and the people on it, were "flying into the city." The answer choice that best clarifies the meaning of the sentence is "The smog was visible to everyone on the plane flying into the city."

The sentence is incorrect because it has a dangling modifier. The thing “working diligently in the garden” is the farmer, not the weeds, so it should start with “the farmer” directly after the comma. Also, “removed” is the most precise and least redundant verb tense to use. 

The sentence as written contains what is known as a "dangling modifer," as the introductory clause does not describe action taken by the subject, "noises." This means the sentence needs to be fixed to make the subject fit with its modifying clause. The best choice among the answers is "Walking at night through the graveyard, people hear noises that seem."

The modifier is "after eating a pan of cake." The only conceivable thing that could eat a pan of cake is Jimmy, not his stomach. So, the initial modifying phrase needs to be placed next to "Jimmy" in the sentence so that it is clear to the reader that this is what is happening. This means that "Jimmy" needs to immediately follow the sentence's initial modifying phrase. "Jimmy, after having ate a pan of cake, felt ill" is incorrect due to the incorrect verb construction "having ate." The correct verb phrase would be "having eaten."

The error in the sentence is in how the phrase "Imagining and writing down such creative imagery" should be about Shakespeare, not his plays. In the original sentence, "Shakespeare's plays" immediately follows the phrase, so it seems as if the plays themselves are imagining and writing down the imagery. The sentence must be corrected so that it is Shakespeare the clause describes.

The modifier “wishing for a new doll” applies to Polly, so it must appear next to “Polly” in the sentence. “Wishing for a new doll, Polly blew out the birthday candles enthusiastically” is the best choice, since the modifier is in the correct place and the sentence doesn’t rely on the passive voice or awkward phrasing.

In the original sentence, the clause "Writing about a family that tours as a freak show" incorrectly modifies "Katherine Dunn's novel." As a novel cannot write itself, the clause is actually meant to modify "Katherine Dunn," the novel's author. All of the incorrect answers maintain this error in some form. "Having written" and "writing" both modify "Katherine Dunn's novel." "A family that travels as a freak show" modifies "Katherine Dunn's novel" as well, when it is meant to refer to the characters in the novel, rather than the novel itself. "Being written about a family that tours as a freak show" modifies "Katherine Dunn," when it should modify "Katherine Dunn's novel." The correct answer, then, must be the sentence, "Katherine Dunn's novel Geek Love, which depicts a family that tours as a freak show, was a finalist for the National Book Award." In this sentence, the clause "which depicts a family that tours as a freak show" correctly modifies "Katherine Dunn's novel."

The phrase "Unlike the other programmers" is intended to relate to another programmer, Nathan, not "Nathan's code." The current sentence also uses passive voice in stating that "Nathan's code was made." The best answer uses both active voice and correct modifier-word modified agreement: "Unlike the other programmers, who were disillusioned and bored, Nathan made code that was consistently full of inventive and exciting ideas."

“Looking at the mannequin” is a modifier that refers to an action performed by the speaker of the sentence. Because a modifier should always appear as close as possible in the sentence to the thing it modifies, “Looking at the mannequin, I thought the dress seemed much smaller than the salesman claimed it was” is the most correct and concise answer.